On Wednesday afternoon, after the last consultation, we called Juan and asked if he had a couple of hours to show us the Capital City. Juan is a charming young man who we met on our trip here in 2008.
It was wonderful to see him again and after hugs and European kisses we were off to the City.
We drove to Galeria Namu first. If you ever get to San Jose, this is a must do. The Galeria is a Fair Trade Gallery - meaning that the artisians are paid fairly for their work and mark ups are not horrific. Masks used in ceremony are displayed as well as art masks from local tribes. Street children are in program where they recycle metal and make art -- not only are their artistic souls being fed, but they learn a trade or two - be it painting, airbrushing and/or welding. The pieces are small enough to fit in a purse an are whimsical representations of insects, butterflies, leaf cutter ants and crabs, among others. There are ceremonial pieces of jewelry, reproductioins of pre-columbian art, textiles, amazing baskets and a plethora of items. If you can't get there in person, check them out at www.galerianamu.com.
After our little foray into Namu, we went to a lovely little restaurant tucked into one of the buildings lining the street -- no sign, just a doorway. Inside the walls were painted a calming green and featured paintings by local artists. Our waiter came over with bottles of water and glasses. Menus were passed out and Doug ordered Arroz con Pollo with fresh vegetables and cole slaw. I let Juan order for me.
I have no idea what it was - aside from delicious. It had two kinds of meat - one ground, one sliced and perhaps raw. A lovely sauce, lettuce, a thick slice of tomato all encased in the most lovely, crunchy case - a cross between puff pastry and a croissant.
Juan then took us to the Central Market and Central Avenue. I don't even know how to describe this. Picture a long, wide cobbled street - running, say, east to west. No vehicles are allowed - pure pedestrian traffic. However, streets running north to south are for vehicles. So, there you are -- walking along and BAM -- all of a sudden you are faced with cars and buses and trucks - then POOF - the light changes and you can go - but if that light changes you had better be out of the way - because these vehicles aren't going to wait for the intersection to clear. Yes, yes - there was running and screaming -- from me -- and sure, there was laughing from Juan and head shaking from Doug, I'm such a loob. Wouldn't go back but wouldn't have missed it for the world.
It was insane - and overwhelming - people swarming, women sitting at card tables selling lottery tickets, illegals spreading blankets in the middle of the streets laying out bootleg movies and DVD's, beggars, businessmen and hawkers all together - flower stalls and bakeries, clothing stores next to electronic stores next to soda's next to --- well, you get it.
We walked to the National Theatre -- a building that rivals any in Europe, for it was built to exact european specifications. A central plaza filled with pigeons and children and old women feeding them (the birds, not the kids). Mind boggling.
The Central Market dates back to the "old city" and has been designated as, for lack of a better phrase, a historic landmark - they can fix it, they can update it but it cannot be torn down. We walked down narrow lanes, cobbled tiny streets lined with booth after booth - leather and seafood stalls, coffee vendors and wood art, clothing and butchers. No rhyme nor reason. I imagine it would take me weeks to wend my way around the whole thing and a month to find my way out again.
I called this entry The Bones of San Jose because you could see, clearly see the Bones of the original City - The National Theatre and Hotel next to it. There were homes - homes that must have been breathtaking when they were built - two and three stories of marble and covered with stone carvings. An ampitheatre in the Roman or Greek style, government buildings and parks. Then, adjacent - buildings slapped up of corrugated metal and brick, plastic sheeting and cement. Fences and gates and concertina wire now fill the Calles and Avenidas.
I don't know when or how it happened but it saddens me. Now I know there are 'better sections' of San Jose that we didn't see. We didn't see most of the areas where the tour companies take you and I'm glad. When we travel we don't want to see what the tour operators and government wants you to see. We want to see the real place - be it island, city, countryside or town - we believe that in order to know a place you must know it's people and it's bones.
The bones of San Jose are tangled. Past merges with present messily, but they merge and mesh nonetheless. Out of this tangled city rise a people that have proven themselves to be polite, open, friendly, patient with the traveler who takes the time to try speak the language and research their culture. I could sit here and type for hours but let me put it in a nutshell -- if more people, more cultures behaved like the Costa Ricans I have had the pleasure to meet - the world would be a kinder, more civilized place.
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